BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 18. Presidents of Uzbekistan and China agreed to bring the trade turnover to $20 billion in the next five years, TurkicWorld reports.

The remark was made during the meeting between President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of China Xi Jinping on October 17 in Beijing.

During the talks, the parties discussed issues of further strengthening of Uzbek-Chinese relations and comprehensive strategic partnership, as well as expressed interest in expanding the portfolio of high-tech projects by jointly organizing the production of innovative products with high added value.

The presidents noted that the volume of Chinese investments has increased fivefold and the number of companies has tripled in recent years. Since the beginning of 2023, the volume of mutual trade has increased by 36 percent and is expected to exceed the $10 billion mark by the end of the year.

President of Uzbekistan is currently on a working visit to China for the participation in the events of the Third ‘One Belt, One Road’ International Forum from October 17 through October 18 in China’s Beijing.

The agenda of the event includes discussion of issues of further development of trade and economic cooperation, strengthening of transport and communication interconnectedness, promotion of green development programs, digitalization, etc.

China has been implementing a vast number of investment projects in Uzbekistan, including a recent $50 million technopark project in Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya region, as well as the supply of 2,000 electric buses to the country by a Chinese BYD automobile company.